The first trial of a law enforcement official for conduct during an on-campus shooting in American history has come to an end with the acquittal of a Florida sheriff’s deputy on charges of felony child abandonment and other offenses related to his actions during the 2018 Parkland school shooting.

Scot Peterson, a former deputy for Broward County, sobbed as the findings were announced on Thursday. Over the course of four days, the jury deliberated for 19 hours.

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Peterson’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, claimed that the defendant was being used as a “sacrificial lamb” for the mistakes done by administrators and elected authorities.

He asserted that the evidence showed Peterson did everything he could have possibly done given the circumstances, notwithstanding his argument that Cruz’s location could not be determined due to the bullets’ echoes.

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The failure of the sheriff’s radio system during the attack, which limited what Peterson heard from the incoming deputies, was another point Eiglarsh emphasized.

Security footage reveals that 36 seconds after Cruz’s attack started, Peterson left his office and jumped into a cart with two unarmed civilian security officers around 90 meters (295 feet) away from the 1200 Building. They arrived at the structure after a minute.

Peterson exited the cart close to the first-floor hallway’s east door. Cruz was firing his semiautomatic AR-15 rifle from the other end of the hallway.

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Peterson did not open the door because he was not donning a bulletproof vest. Instead, he concealed himself in an alcove of a neighboring building while keeping his rifle ready. Long after the gunfire was over and other police officers had assaulted the structure, he remained inside for 40 minutes.

Authorities in Texas are also looking into Uvalde police officers who did not stop the shooter who killed 19 elementary school pupils and two instructors last year. However, no one has been charged.